Hi All
I am thinking about purchasing a Emotiva XPA to go with my Triton 1, 60C, Supersat 3 system.

I currently have a Yamaha rx 1040 powering the system. As explained in earlier threads the sound quality out of "direct" mode is very average and hollow. I am blaming the receiver 100% for this as I dont think its the speakers. Its just odd that it sounds so poor in "direct" or "bypass" mode. However I have set custom Parametric Eq settings on my Yamaha and the sound is truly unbelievable. But it needs my settings to sound good it doesnt sound this good just going through the receiver with no settings.

My question is will the Emotiva enhance the parametric EQ settings I have on the receiver or will it go into Bypass mode and ignore the EQ settings and enhance that instead? I obviously have Preouts but I dont know if the preouts will remember the eq settings

Excuse my ignorance but I am new the separates and need to make sure. I am hoping it will enhance the current settings I have not enhance the direct that sounds very hollow. Please share with me your thoughts

Any owners of the Emotiva XPA line and especially the XPA 5 please share your experiences with them. let me know how much better it sounds than driving it through a Pioneer, Yamah or Denon all in one reciever

Steveo...I see you are still hanging onto the Yamaha. She has given you nothing but grief, it's time to hire a good attorney and file for a divorce. Since your eyes are on an xpa-5, wouldn't it make sense too pair it with an Emotiva xsp-1 Gen 2 or better yet the xmc-1 processor. I believe with this combo all your frustrations would disappear. Your T1's deserve a better processor than the Yamaha can deliver.

I'm using 3 Emotiva xpa-1 monoblocks > Anthem d2v > T2's and SS60C...this setup (music) gives me many "stand up and cheer " moments. The Emotiva xpa-1's shouldn't sound to much different than the xpa-5...the xpa series brings a lot to the table...sonically and with power in spades.

Steveo...it's all on sale...take the plunge. You'll sit back a year from now and wonder why you waited so long.

Thanks Anthem for your response and feedback on the xpa range they truly sound awesome. I fully get what you are saying but I have a few problems.

1. The Yamaha is only a few months old
2. I just bought the goldenear package and including the receiver I am over $10k already. I was literally one of the first people in Australia to get triton 1s so I am pretty grateful for that but I have spent decent money to get them.
3. Speaking of divorce if I request another receiver right now I might as well get one from my wife (I am kidding My wife is actually ok about all of this I just don't want to spend the $2k-$3k for a new receiver yet myself)
4 The xmc1 looks great however correct me if I am wrong it doesn't have Atmos yet? I eventually want 4x invisia 7000s paired with this system. Also with all the bad press about the umc 1 I want to wait anyway to see how the xmc1 goes in the field. Early reports suggest it is awesome. I have also found out my mate can get cheap marantz receivers. Would the sr7009 be a better option than the Yamaha too? It will be a choice of that or the xmc 1 if it gets Atmos but I am going to wait. What would you go xmc 1 or so 7009? I heard the emotiva for $2k competes with $10k processors. I wonder what makes them say that? They must have something in it worth a lot I am not familiar with.
5. Receivers and processors are the most prone piece of equipment to go obsolete in terms of technology anyway. My triton will last me decades my xpa 5 will last me decades as good sound and amplifier doesn't change and good sound is good sound. Even a top of range receiver or processor will be obsolete in maybe 5 years with newer sound formats, connections or better technology etc so I am not too worried I am playing a long game here and am keeping the Yamaha due to these above reasons.


So in summary I don't really want to replace my Yamaha. Trust me when I say I am getting those "stand up and cheer" moments with the Yamaha and triton 1s as it is. The only difference is I have EQed the Yamaha and it's not in direct mode that's all. It sounds great. Can it sound better with a better receiver? Probably. Right now am I pretty happy? Most definitely.

At the end of the day good sound is good sound. I am happy at the moment I just am considering the xpa 5 because the Aussie dollar is tanking and I can land it for under $1k delivered and avoid custom charges. I eventually want the xpa 5 but I am moving up my purchase because of this.

So my question remains will the xpa 5 amplify my EQed sound with the Yamaha or because it is connected via preout will it go to bypass mode and then amplify and even enhance that sound? I am not sure how that works. To me since the xmc1 has an 11 band parametric eq (the Yamaha has 7) it would be logical to think the xpa 5 does enhance the sound from the EQed receiver or processor correct?

A Technical Tina, (Guru) I am not. I've not owned a receiver in many, many years...especially one with pre-outs. If someone on this forum doesn't answer your question, post it on the Emotiva community site. They have quite a few "smart cookies"...some wear Cowboy hats (with all that knowledge a hat keeps their brain from exploding)

Finally, glad to hear a forum member with an understanding wife, especially one that doesn't rule with an iron fist. Does she bake?

Steveo wrote: So my question remains will the xpa 5 amplify my EQed sound with the Yamaha or because it is connected via preout will it go to bypass mode and then amplify and even enhance that sound? I am not sure how that works. To me since the xmc1 has an 11 band parametric eq (the Yamaha has 7) it would be logical to think the xpa 5 does enhance the sound from the EQed receiver or processor correct?

Any EQ or other signal processing is all happening BEFORE the pre-outs of the receiver, that is all done in the preamp section of the receiver. The pre-outs into the bigger amp will simply give you a bigger amp (which, I should mention, is not insignificant in performance upgrade). The fact that you are using some kind of signal processing at all seems bad, however, implying to me that something else is not right somewhere in the receivers settings/setup.

Seems like we are in the same boat. I hate the sound of Audyssey and end up using the graphic equalizer to give me great sound.

Have the Trion 2s, Aon 3 surrounds and Supercenter XL. However constantly being told that my Denon 1712 don't do justice to them. I was also curious to see if I could improve the sound. Listen to 80% movies/tv and 20% music.

Cds sound terrific but sometimes have a hard time hearing dialogue depending on the source.

Tried the Marantz SR7008 and Denon X4000. They didn't sound any better than my 1712.

Ordered the Emotiva UMC-200 and XPA-5. Used the XPA-5 with the Marantz pre-outs - no difference in sound. Didn't care for the UMC-200 and XPA-5 combination. The parametric eq had so little effect on the sound - much less than with the Marantz or Denon. Ended up returning them.

I understand the Yamaha Aventage RX-A1040 lets you use a graphic equalizer to modify Audyssey. Did you give that a try out of curiosity? That was probably the only receiver left I was willing to demo.

Are there any other preamps that a have a graphic equalizer?